Steve Cichon: World Traveler. Winter Haven, Fl, 1998
BUFFALO, NY – Something that has always struck me is how people always remember and cherish the “important milestones” of life and culture, but the mundanity of daily life is often left to be forever forgotten.
That’s why everyone has 1,000 pictures of themselves as kids on Christmas, but none of you playing outside in the yard on a Tuesday.
Another example, someone will keep their high school diploma, in a box in the basement…. because you’re supposed to keep it. However, the same guy will pay $4000 for a “Car 54, Where Are You” lunchbox on eBay, just like the one he had in 5th grade but threw away at the end of the school year. Makes me think the stuff most of us keep and the stuff we value are too often two different things.
That’s why I collect stuff, tape the radio and tv, and take SILLY TOURIST PICTURES. People tend not to think about what they’ll want to remember in 20 years. I am on a mission to remember and celebrate the crap of day to day life. I love celebrating the under-celebrated.
This is a picture of my wife at the Tower of London, where she is leaving the bathroom, or “loo,” as the Brits like to say. I have dozens of pictures of my wife leaving the restroom taken all over the world.
This is Max the Dog, guarding our house by looking out the window.
This is the under part of a bridge that goes over the Charles River heading into Boston, Ma. This photo was taken on a Duck Boat tour.
This is a Publix Supermarket near St. Petersburg, FL. I am a big fan of supermarkets, and love to spend time in different supermarkets when out of town.
Have you ever seen a picture of the Statue of Liberty’s ass? Neither had I, which is why I snapped this one when visiting New York in 1998.
On the same trip to New York, I saw Sirajul, the guy that owns the Tourist Trap shop next to the David Letterman Theatre… Dave used to have Mujibar and Sirajul on the show all the time. This payphone is on Broadway in the Big Apple… And yes, that’s me with the bird legs.
This is the shelf in the old WBEN newsroom on Elmwood Ave. where Hall of Famer Ed Little would keep his glasses, hat, and brown-bagged lunch during his weekend news shift. Apparently, Ed ate before I snapped this photo.
Back to Florida, and to North America’s oldest city, St. Augustine. Since this garbage can looks pretty old, and St. Augustine is the oldest city, bets are pretty good that this is America’s oldest garbage can.
This fire extinguisher is just a few feet away from where Abraham Lincoln was shot, at Ford’s Theatre in our nation’s capital. 1990 photo
On a visit to DC 11 years later, I captured on film this fire hydrant, just a few feet from the rear entrance of the White House.
Back to London now, where this sewer grate a few blocks away from Parliament, looks like it could be the one in which Charlie found the “golden ticket” in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
I really like the detail of the gate surrounding Buckingham Palace.
Same for the Eiffel Tour. The detail is often lost in the largess of the tower.
It’s impossible to visit the Eiffel Tour without being overwhelmed by Arab hucksters trying to sell you Tour Eiffel keychains, statues, postcards, and roasted chestnuts.
When the wife and I visited Cooperstown, Pete Rose was at a store down the street from the Hall of Fame charging little kids lotsa $$$ to sign crap. While signing, he was eating potato chips off a paper plate, and likely getting grease of the stuff he was signing. Nice guy.
Reformatted & Updated pages from staffannouncer.com finding a new home at buffalostories.com
By Steve Cichon
